Priorities for the President At the China Summit: Putting NationalSecurity First

About the Authors

In late June, President Bill Clinton will embark on
an eight-day state visit to the People's Republic of China. This
will be the first visit of a U.S. President to China since the
bloody massacre of pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen
Square on June 4, 1989. President Clinton believes this state visit
is important to the forging of the "constructive strategic
partnership" proclaimed last October at the Sino-U.S. summit with
President Jiang Zemin in Washington, D.C.

Much
has happened since that meeting to call such a partnership into
question, including allegations of Chinese interference in the 1996
presidential election; reports of American private-sector technical
assistance to China's missile program, which the U.S. Department of
Defense concluded harmed U.S. national security interests;
Pakistan's explosion of a nuclear device, which China helped to
construct; and intelligence reports that China is aiming its
ballistic missiles at targets in the United States.

Today, Sino-U.S. relations are far from
reaching last October's promise of a strategic partnership. In
fact, the very concept of a "strategic partnership" was then, and
is now, premature and quite possibly delusional. There is too
little sharing of national interests and fundamental values on
which to build such a relationship. If a strategic partnership is
possible, then it must be grounded in broad-based political support
in Congress and among the American people. Yet this clearly is
lacking.

The
objective of all U.S. China policy should be to build an enduring
relationship that is politically sustainable and based on trust and
transparency. To this end, U.S. policy should be directed at two
central goals. First, it should focus on protecting vital
U.S. national security interests in the region. Second, it
should focus on the expansion in China of individual freedom in all
its forms, including economic freedom. The Clinton Administration
should not allow commercial interests to jeopardize national
security.

TALKING POINTS
FOR THE PRESIDENT

To
develop and sustain a strategic partnership with China, President
Clinton should go to the upcoming summit in China with a clear
agenda that advances, in a frank and straightforward manner, the
priority security, economic, and political interests of the United
States.

Protecting
Security Interests

China's emphasis on military modernization
and the proliferation of ballistic missiles, nuclear technologies,
and destabilizing advanced weaponry--particularly in the Persian
Gulf and South Asia regions--pose multiple threats to U.S.
security. In May, India and Pakistan each conducted a series of
nuclear weapons tests, which have opened the door to a nuclear arms
race in South Asia and the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction in the Middle East. China's demonstrated willingness to
use force to advance its territorial claims against Taiwan and in
the South China Sea, as well as its strenuous opposition to U.S.
missile defense plans, should be matters of grave concern to the
Clinton Administration. To counter these threats to national
security, at the upcoming summit the President should:

Challenge China to change its security
strategies. President Clinton can advance the prospects for
peace in South Asia and across the Asia-Pacific region by
challenging China to abandon security strategies heavily based on
nuclear missiles. If China agrees to enter into agreements that
promote transparency and the control of strategic nuclear forces,
the United States should be prepared to share missile defense
technology with China. This would be a positive example for India
and Pakistan: Arms control can lead to the sharing of strategic
defense technology. If China refuses, however, the United States
must be prepared to give its allies in the region missile defense
systems to counter China's nuclear missile forces.

Condemn China's nuclear technology and
missile proliferation. China has a long history of
proliferation in such regions as the Persian Gulf and South Asia,
which are of national interest to the United States. President
Clinton should be very firm with Jiang Zemin at the summit. China's
long-standing assistance to Pakistan's nuclear and missile
development programs helped to push India and Pakistan into a
nuclear arms race, which threatens both world peace and China's
security. This development has given comfort to other states, like
Iran, that seek to build their own nuclear weapons. Finally, the
President should remind Jiang Zemin that the United States in the
past has been successful in stopping nuclear weapons programs from
flourishing in South Korea and Taiwan, which prevented the
emergence of new nuclear threats to China.

Inform China that future commercial
space cooperation depends on China's cooperation on stemming
proliferation. President Clinton should tell Jiang Zemin that
the United States will not proceed with future commercial space
cooperation until China ends nuclear and missile cooperation with
Pakistan. The Clinton Administration had considered giving China
additional access to the U.S. civil space sector if it joined the
Missile Technology Control Regime. Such an approach is wrong.
China's good behavior must precede sharing the benefits of
commercial space cooperation.

Tell China that its promotion of
proliferation makes missile defense necessary for its
neighbors. President Clinton should explain to Jiang Zemin that
non-nuclear missile defenses are needed to stem nuclear
proliferation in South and East Asia. China should end its
opposition to cooperation in missile defense with U.S. friends and
allies in Asia. It is in China's interest to see that its neighbors
seek non-nuclear missile defenses, not nuclear deterrent
forces.

Insist that military-to-military
exchanges become more balanced. President Clinton should let
Jiang Zemin know that military-to-military dialogue between China
and the United States is useful so long as it is on equal footing.
It is in the interest of the United States to sustain dialogue with
the People's Liberation Army (PLA) for intelligence purposes and to
inform PLA leaders of U.S. intent and military capabilities. This
can be done, however, without giving the PLA greater access to U.S.
interests, strategies, and military technology than China gives to
the United States.

Advise Jiang Zemin that
Congress, out of national security concerns, could restrict
technology trade with China and with the PLA companies involved in
such trade. Recent reports by the U.S. Department of Defense
indicate that U.S. private-sector assistance to China's commercial
satellite launch program may have illegally transferred technical
information that could be used to improve the accuracy of China's
intercontinental ballistic missiles. Such transfers put the
national security of the United States at risk, and Congress may
consider imposing sanctions on PLA companies to limit them.

Promoting
Commercial Interests

It
is fair to ask the reason that Americans should trade with a
country that is accused of persecuting Christians, proliferating
weapons of mass destruction, and exporting goods made by slave
labor. The answer: Expanding China's fledgling private sector
through trade with the United States is an effective way to promote
greater individual freedom in China. By trading with private
Chinese citizens, Americans can erode the control and authority of
the state and expand the economic and political freedoms of the
Chinese people.

But
trade policy alone cannot address all human rights and national
security concerns. Specific abuses of human rights and threats to
national and regional security should be addressed by specific
measures. For example, a package of 11 bills passed by the U.S.
House of Representatives in 1997 sought to improve monitoring of
imports made by slave labor and U.S. Department of State reporting
on religious persecution, as well as blocking visas for human
rights violators involved in religious persecution and forced
abortions and sterilization. The bills also increased funding for
Radio Free Asia broadcasts into China and discouraged trade with
the PLA. These concrete initiatives in the Policy For Freedom
package of legislation addressed concerns that trade policy alone
cannot solve.

Trade with China helps create jobs for
Americans who work in export-oriented industries, expands
individual freedom by reducing the role of the state in the
economy, and draws China further into the international system. To
achieve these benefits, at the summit President Clinton should:

Make clear his support for permanent
most favored nation (MFN) status for China, and urge China to
complete its World Trade Organization (WTO) accession protocols to
make permanent MFN status possible. China must increase the
transparency of its trade rules and regulations. Although Beijing
has worked to reduce tariffs and to dismantle trade barriers, much
more needs to be done to meet WTO standards. President Clinton
should use the summit to impart a new dynamism to Sino-U.S. efforts
to complete a bilateral accession agreement by the November
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meeting. China's accession
to the WTO would advance its modernization efforts. At the same
time, China's decisions to lower tariffs, eliminate nontariff
barriers, and provide legal protection for commerce would advance
U.S. commercial interests.

Praise China for maintaining the value
of its currency during the recent Asian financial crisis. This
decision helped to contain the spread of the crisis. President
Clinton should urge Jiang Zemin to continue this policy. At the
same time, however, he should note that Asian economies like
Taiwan's that are open and transparent were better able to
withstand the impact of the crisis than were the less-open and
less-transparent "crony capitalist" economies. The implication for
China is clear with respect to the market opening and transparency
requirements of membership in the WTO, which China seeks.

Urge China to speed up legal reforms to
extend the rule of law to all commercial transactions. China's
development of a rule of law needs to be accelerated to meet the
needs of its modernization program and to keep pace with the
demands of today's global economy. Contracts need the certainty of
legal enforcement, and personal property rights must enjoy firm
legal protection. American legal expertise can help to strengthen
the rule of law in China. President Clinton should work to
institutionalize exchanges among leading law schools and legal
scholars in the United States and China so that an ongoing dialogue
on the rule of law takes place.

Urge China to expand access to China's
market for U.S. business. For starters, this will serve to
lessen the politically sensitive and growing U.S. trade imbalance
with China. But a growing private-sector U.S. presence can benefit
China, too. U.S. companies can employ Chinese citizens who would be
displaced by the reform of China's inefficient and obsolete
state-owned enterprise sector. Expanding the role of the private
sector in China should be a key U.S. priority in helping China to
develop economically and politically. In this regard, President
Clinton should urge Jiang Zemin to reverse his government's
decision to ban direct marketing by U.S. firms.

Encouraging
Human Rights and Democratic Values

U.S.
policy makers should protect and empower those abroad who share the
fundamental beliefs of the United States in peace, freedom, and
democracy. The efforts and accomplishments of freedom fighters and
democracy builders in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China should not go
unnoticed, and policymakers should find ways to offer recognition
of and support for their efforts. In addition, the United States
should seek to improve the quantity and quality of information
going into and coming out of China, including substantive news.
This would help to communicate American culture, concerns, and
beliefs accurately to a wide audience in China, and help Americans
to stay informed on important developments in China. U.S. policy
should promote ways to expand personal freedoms in China, including
religious liberty, and to quicken the pace of its political and
economic reforms. To achieve those goals at the summit, President
Clinton should:

Urge Beijing to relax controls on
religious affairs. Americans and their elected representatives
have been horrified by the reports of torture and abuse of
Catholics who recognize papal authority and of home-based
Christians who refuse to register with the government. President
Clinton should warn Jiang Zemin that government suppression of
religious beliefs will intensify internal instability, harm
bilateral relations, and threaten the ability of the United States
to assist with China's economic development. If China fails to heed
this warning, the full force of the measures in the House's
supermajority-approved Freedom From Religious Persecution Act, if
approved by the Senate, should be applied.

Emphasize the importance of
democratization to achieving a normal Sino-U.S. relationship.
Relations between China and the United States will not be normal,
and a real "strategic partnership" not possible, until the
governing values of the two societies become more alike. President
Clinton should declare his belief that democratization in Taiwan,
Hong Kong, and elsewhere helps to keep government close to the
people and unleashes creative ideas to tackle tough public policy
problems. China currently conducts direct, popular elections only
at the lowest level of government. This franchise should be
expanded to the county and provincial level.

Encourage Beijing to resume dialogue
with the Dalai Lama to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the Tibet
issue. China's tight controls over politics and religion in
Tibet have provoked internal resistance and international
condemnation. Rhetoric demonizing the Dalai Lama should stop, and
China should recognize that, even though its sovereignty over Tibet
is secure, peace and stability in the region will not be realized
without negotiating a settlement with the only leader trusted by
Tibetans to represent their interests.

Support legislative and judicial
exchange programs. China faces a daunting challenge in
modernizing its legal system. Most of the disputes between the
United States and China in the areas of human rights and religious
persecution are rooted in China's lack of due process and the legal
protection of property. Because China is late in taking on this
challenge, it should draw on the experiences of Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Europe, and the United States and thereby avoid the trials and
errors made by these countries. The United States strongly should
support legislative and judicial exchange programs that promote
China's transition to the rule of law.

Welcome China's willingness to sign the
two United Nations human rights covenants, but urge China to ratify
them and implement their provisions promptly. The International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International
Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights emphasize the
universality of certain fundamental human rights. China has made a
commitment to Hong Kong that it will apply the standards outlined
in these covenants to the people of Hong Kong. Once ratified, these
covenants will oblige China to observe and protect these universal
human rights throughout the country.

Supporting
Dialogue and Restraint with Taiwan

At
the summit, President Clinton should be clear in pointing out that
current U.S. policies toward Taiwan are based on the three official
communiqués between Washington and Beijing, and by the 1979
Taiwan Relations Act. Within this context, the President should
speak so as to leave no doubt that the policy of the United States
toward the issue of Taiwan is to:

Encourage
China and Taiwan to resolve their differences peacefully. The
conflict between China and Taiwan has a long history and involves
many complex issues. There is no simple solution. Wisely, the
United States has avoided getting in the middle of this conflict by
playing a mediating role, stating instead that the conflict should
be resolved peacefully by the Chinese themselves. The only path to
a peaceful resolution of this standoff is promoting freedom and
democracy on the mainland, not censoring free speech in Taiwan. The
United States can support any mutually acceptable resolution of
outstanding differences that does not limit individual freedom or
political democracy.

China repeatedly has pressed the United
States for a fourth communiqué to address relations with
Taiwan. At the summit, President Clinton should refuse, emphasizing
that the three Sino-U.S. communiqués, as well as the Taiwan
Relations Act, were premised on China's pursuing peaceful relations
with Taiwan.

Maintain
Taiwan's military capability to resist the use of force or any
other form of coercion that would jeopardize its security or social
and economic system. President Clinton should emphasize that
the Taiwan Relations Act states that any attempt to determine the
future of Taiwan by anything but peaceful means is a threat to the
peace and security of the Asia-Pacific region, and a grave concern
of the United States. The fate of Taiwan's democracy is a special
concern for the United States, and the U.S. response during the
Taiwan Strait crisis of March 1996 should stand as a reminder to
both China and Taiwan of the U.S. commitment. The President should
reinforce the commitment in the Taiwan Relations Act that the
United States will continue to sell Taiwan arms of a defensive
nature to help to maintain its self-defense capability. The
resumption of cross-strait dialogue is important, but it should not
impose a constraint on the U.S. commitment to Taiwan.

Supporting
Democratic Efforts in Hong Kong

On
July 1, 1997, Great Britain officially ceded sovereignty over the
territory of Hong Kong to China. This transfer of sovereignty was
the result of negotiations between Britain and China during the
1980s. The key product of these negotiations was the 1984
Sino-British Joint Declaration, which promised that Hong Kong's
people would rule Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy. The
United States recognized the Joint Declaration as an international
treaty in the 1992 U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act. It is, therefore, a
matter of international law that both parties to this treaty abide
by the solemn obligations undertaken in the Joint Declaration. To
make sure that Hong Kong's economic and political autonomy
continue, President Clinton should:

Urge China to
make clear to the people of Hong Kong that the pace of
democratization in Hong Kong is for them to decide. Hong Kong's
government seems to believe that accelerating the pace of
democratization would stray from the dictates of the Basic Law
(Hong Kong's quasi-constitution passed by China's National People's
Congress in 1990). The Basic Law, however, incorporates China's
Joint Declaration commitments into Hong Kong's common law system.
Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law state that the "ultimate aim"
is the election of the chief executive and all members of the
Legislative Council by "universal suffrage." If the people want to
accelerate the path toward this "ultimate aim," then the government
of Hong Kong should be free to respond to their demands without
fear of violating the spirit or the letter of the Basic Law.

CONCLUSION

Relations with China, considering its vast
size, economic dynamism, and military potential, are of critical
importance to the United States. Yet China's own actions have
raised serious political concerns among the American public,
calling into question the very nature of China's relations with the
United States. Thus, it is important that the upcoming summit
between Presidents Clinton and Jiang not simply serve as a stage
for a photo opportunity. President Clinton can use the summit to
explain clearly U.S. concerns and priority interests in relations
with China and to present China's leadership with a roadmap to
achieving an improved relationship between the United States and
China.

Richard D. Fisher is a
former Senior Policy Analyst in the Asian Studies Center of The
Heritage Foundation.

Robert P. O'Quinn is a
former Policy Analyst for International Economics and Trade in the
Asian Studies Center of The Heritage Foundation.

James J. Przystupis former Director of
the Asian Studies Center of The Heritage Foundation.

Stephen J. Yates is a former Policy Analyst for
China in the Asian Studies Center of The Heritage Foundation.